Wednesday, January 16, 2013

USCIS Policy Manual

In April 2010, USCIS began an unprecedented review of our policies by gathering input from thousands of agency employees, customers, and stakeholders. One result of that review is a new centralized online resource, the USCIS Policy Manual.

Please take a moment to view our video below and explore the Policy Manual and supporting resources. The Policy Manual is designed to adapt easily to changes in immigration law and policy. A keyword search function and numerous charts, graphs and process flow maps enable easy navigation and research. Users will also find helpful links to other adjudicative resources.

The new Policy Manual will ultimately replace USCIS's current Adjudicators Field Manual, or AFM, and the current USCIS Immigration Policy Memoranda website. Additional volumes will be phased in as they are completed. We released the first completed volume of the Policy Manual, covering Citizenship and Naturalization, on January 7, 2013. To provide customers and stakeholders time to transition, the policies contained in the Citizenship and Naturalization volume will be effective on Jan. 22, 2013.